Out of the 13 food "influencers" included in the magazine, none were female chefs, though four were women in the industry: Aida Batlle, a coffee producer; Amrita Patel, the chairman of India's National Dairy Development Board; Vandana Shiva, an environmental activist and author; and Ertharin Cousin, head of the UN World Food Programme.

But four out of 13 is still quite low.

When asked about the controversy, Eater National associate editor Hillary Dixler was told by Time editor Howard Chua-Eoan that "it reflects one very harsh reality of the current chefs' world…it's still a boys club."

Essentially, he argued, female chefs don't have the same level of "reputation and influence" as their male counterparts.

So Dixler decided to look at key events in the culinary community that affect a chef's clout and image to see how often female chefs were included in the line-up. She focused on festivals, events, and lecture-based conferences, such as the New York City Wine & Food Festival and the Harvard Science & Cooking series.

"The numbers below show that for the most part, women are not as much a staple on the food event circuit," Dixler wrote on Eater National. "Does this data suggest that women are not as easily welcomed into the world of elite food events as men? Take a look and decide."